A deal has been reached to lift the threat of administration from fabrication firm BiFab.
The yards will not close and work continues on the current contract for the Beatrice offshore windfarm.
A financial package to complete the contract has been provided by Seaway Heavy Lifting, SSE and the partners to the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project, JCE Offshore.
The Scottish Government will loan cash to BiFab if necessary.
The Scottish Government led talks during an impasse and brokered a deal -
The agreement follows work by the Scottish Government over the last week building up to intensive negotiations over the last two days with Bifab, Seaway Heavy Lifting, SSE, Siemens, and the partners in the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project.
Under the deal BiFab will receive payments to cover its immediate cash flow problem. This removes the threat of administration and ensures the full funding of the Beatrice contract.
While BiFab will see through the However, more work remains to be done to secure the long term future of the company.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I am pleased that after an extensive series of talks over the last week and two days of intense negotiations we have been able to broker a commercial agreement that lifts the threat of administration from BiFab and allows work on the current contract to continue.
“In particular I welcome the moves made by Seaway Heavy Lifting, SSE and the partners in the Beatrice Project, JCE Offshore and Siemens to resolve this situation and enable BiFab to continue its work on this contract.
“Over the last seven days we have worked to ensure all partners understood the urgency of the position BiFab found themselves in and the part they could play in relieving the financial pressure on the company.
“Seaway Heavy Lifting and SSE in particular have chosen to back BiFab today to complete their contract and that is a real vote of confidence in the company and the workforce.
“I know that this has been an anxious time for people employed at BiFab, as well as their families and the wider communities of Burntisland, Methil and Arnish and the trade unions have ensured that the importance of this company was made clear to all companies involved.
“All companies including BiFab have had to take difficult decisions to secure this outcome.
“While this deal lifts the immediate threat of administration, we recognise that there is a lot of work still to do to secure the long term position.
“Ministers will continue to work with BiFab, the trade unions and industry partners to identify ways to secure the long term future of renewables manufacturing on these sites.”
BiFab faced the threat of administration after suffering a “critical cash position”
connected to its £100 million contract to supply 26 wind turbine foundations for
the SSE-
The fabrication of foundation jackets and piles was split between Lewis and BiFab's two yards in Fife.
The damaging dispute involving manufactured assemblies for the windfarm resulted in a disruption to payments causing an extremely serious cash flow problem for BiFab.
Deal to save BiFab, Arnish closure threat lifted
18 November 2017